US4440707A - Process for producing silicon nitride sintered products having high toughness - Google Patents

Process for producing silicon nitride sintered products having high toughness Download PDF

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US4440707A
US4440707A US06/428,507 US42850782A US4440707A US 4440707 A US4440707 A US 4440707A US 42850782 A US42850782 A US 42850782A US 4440707 A US4440707 A US 4440707A
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Toru Shimamori
Yoshinori Hattori
Yasushi Matsuo
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Niterra Co Ltd
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NGK Spark Plug Co Ltd
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    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C04CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES
    • C04BLIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
    • C04B35/00Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products
    • C04B35/515Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products based on non-oxide ceramics
    • C04B35/58Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products based on non-oxide ceramics based on borides, nitrides, i.e. nitrides, oxynitrides, carbonitrides or oxycarbonitrides or silicides
    • C04B35/584Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products based on non-oxide ceramics based on borides, nitrides, i.e. nitrides, oxynitrides, carbonitrides or oxycarbonitrides or silicides based on silicon nitride
    • C04B35/593Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products based on non-oxide ceramics based on borides, nitrides, i.e. nitrides, oxynitrides, carbonitrides or oxycarbonitrides or silicides based on silicon nitride obtained by pressure sintering
    • CCHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C04CEMENTS; CONCRETE; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES
    • C04BLIME, MAGNESIA; SLAG; CEMENTS; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF, e.g. MORTARS, CONCRETE OR LIKE BUILDING MATERIALS; ARTIFICIAL STONE; CERAMICS; REFRACTORIES; TREATMENT OF NATURAL STONE
    • C04B35/00Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products
    • C04B35/515Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products based on non-oxide ceramics
    • C04B35/58Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products based on non-oxide ceramics based on borides, nitrides, i.e. nitrides, oxynitrides, carbonitrides or oxycarbonitrides or silicides
    • C04B35/584Shaped ceramic products characterised by their composition; Ceramics compositions; Processing powders of inorganic compounds preparatory to the manufacturing of ceramic products based on non-oxide ceramics based on borides, nitrides, i.e. nitrides, oxynitrides, carbonitrides or oxycarbonitrides or silicides based on silicon nitride

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a process for producing silicon nitride sintered products having high strength, high toughness, and a fibrous structure.
  • silicon nitride sintered products are excellent in various properties such as mechanical strength, heat resistance and corrosion resistance, etc., they are used as high temperature structural materials such as for parts of gas turbines.
  • silicon nitride has a poor sinterability because of having a highly covalent bonding nature and, consequently, it is difficult to obtain silicon nitride having high density and high strength.
  • the present inventors have conducted extensive studies on sintering aids to be added in obtaining dense sintered products which are made by combining a reaction sintering and resintering processes. As a result, it has now been found that, when sintered products obtained by reaction sintering of a metallic silicon powder to which titanium nitride and certain kinds of oxides, including oxides of rare earth elements, are added in specified amounts, respectively, and are then subjected to resintering, the resulting products do not undergo degradation of strength at a high temperature and are remarkably excellent as high temperature structural materials.
  • the present invention relates to a process for producing silicon nitride sintered products having high toughness, comprising blending from 97 to 57% by weight of metallic silicon powder having a maximum particle size of 25 ⁇ m or less with from 1 to 15% by weight, calculated as TiN, of a TiN powder having a maximum particle size of 20 ⁇ m or less or a powder of titanium component capable of changing into TiN during reaction sintering, and from 2 to 28% by weight of one or more components selected from the group consisting of AlN, Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 and oxides of rare earth elements, molding the resulting mixture, carrying out reaction sintering in a nonoxidizing atmosphere of a nitrogen gas or a nitrogen-containing mixed gas, and thereafter resintering in the same atmosphere at a temperature of from 1,600° to 2,200° C.
  • a metallic silicon powder is used in the present invention as a starting raw material to which sintering aids are added, and the mixture is subjected first to reaction sintering to obtain a reaction sintered product.
  • silicon nitride is not used as a starting raw material like the above described prior processes is as follows:
  • TiN powder which is the starting raw material
  • one or more sintering aids selected from AlN, Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 and oxides of rare earth elements are added.
  • the TiN serves to increase toughness by inhibiting grain growth in the sintered product and increase the aspect ratio (length of fiber/diameter) of particles and increase high temperature strength by uniformly dispersing between particles of silicon nitride to improve the properties of the grain boundary phase. Therefore, it is possible to add a powder of titanium components capable of changing into TiN during the reaction sintering, such as metal Ti or titanium hydride, etc., instead of the TiN powder.
  • other sintering aids should be added additionally, because dense products cannot be obtained by adding only the TiN powder if hot pressing treatment is not carried out. Sintering aids to be added should be those which do not adversely affect the above described effect of the TiN added. As a result of various experiments by the present inventors, it has been found that such sintering aids are selected from the group consisting of AlN, Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 , and oxides of rare earth elements.
  • the metallic silicon powder must necessarily have a maximum particle size of 25 ⁇ m or less, because the maximum diameter of pores in the sintered products after reaction sintering depends upon the maximum particle size of the raw material powders. If the maximum particle size is larger than 25 ⁇ m, large pores remain in the products after resintering, which is a severe fault in the final resulting sintered products.
  • the TiN powder must necessarily have a maximum particle size of 20 ⁇ m or less. If the particle size is over 20 ⁇ m, the powder cannot be dispersed uniformly, and the desirable effects of TiN being added are not exhibited.
  • the sintering aids such as AlN, etc., have preferably a maximum particle size of 10 ⁇ m or less.
  • the above described raw materials must necessarily be used in the amounts of from 97 to 57% by weight of the metallic silicon powder, from 1 to 15% by weight of the TiN powder or the powder of titanium components capable of changing into TiN during the reaction sintering, and from 2 to 28% by weight of one or more sintering aids selected from AlN, Al 2 O 3 , SiO 2 and oxides of rare earth elements. If the amount of TiN, etc., is lower than 1% by weight, the effect of improving the high temperature strength and toughness is not exhibited, and, if it is over 15% by weight, strength at room temperature deteriorates.
  • the amount of sintering aids such as AlN, etc. is lower than 2% by weight, not only does the sinterability upon resistering deteriorate, but also the structure of the sintered products becomes difficult to change into a fibrous structure which is necessary for high strength and toughness. If it is over 28% by weight, though the sinterability in resintering is improved, the strength at high temperature of the resulting sintered products degrade remarkably.
  • the above described raw materials are blended and ground by a ball mill, etc., and the resulting mixture is molded into a desired shape.
  • the moldings are subjected first to reaction sintering by carrying out a nitriding reaction at a temperature of from 1,200° to 1,450° C. in a nonoxidizing atmosphere of a nitrogen gas or a mixed gas composed of nitrogen and ammonia, inert gas or hydrogen, etc.
  • a nitriding reaction may have a pressure of 1 atmospheric pressure or more.
  • the resulting product is necessarily resintered in order to form dense products having a fibrous structure.
  • Resintering is carried out at a temperature of from 1,600° to 2,200° C. in a nonoxidizing atmosphere such as a nitrogen gas or a mixture of nitrogen and an inert gas.
  • a temperature higher than 2,200° C. is not necessary, because such a temperature is not industrially useful, and the properties of the resulting sintered products would not be improved thereby.
  • the resintering is preferably carried out under a pressure of from 1 to 3,000 atm.
  • the pressure is lower than 1 atm, silicon nitride is easily volatilized and decomposed in the case of sintering at higher than 1,850° C. Accordingly, in order to prevent decomposition, a pressure of 1 atm or more is preferred.
  • the pressure higher than 3,000 atm is not suitable industrially from the viewpoints of apparatus and safety.
  • resintering may be carried out directly when the sintered products, before resintering, do not have opened pores, it is preferred to carry out resintering after the surface thereof is covered completely with silica glass, etc., because there is a possibility of loss of denseness if resintered directly in the case of having opened pores.
  • sintering may be carried out without covering the surface, even in case of having opened pores. Further, the above described resintering step may be carried out continuously after the above described reaction sintering step, or may be carried out separately.
  • the process of the present invention is characterized by adding a TiN powder and sintering aids such as AlN, etc., to a metallic silicon powder, carrying out reaction sintering of the resulting mixture and carrying out resintering. Accordingly, it is possible to produce silicon nitride sintered products having high strength and high toughness and a complicated shape by the synergistic effect of the TiN powder and AlN, etc., and the produced sintered products can be used as parts of gas turbines, parts of diesel engines, cutting tools, etc.
  • a TiN powder and sintering aids such as AlN, etc.
  • a TiN powder having an average particle size of 2 ⁇ m and a maximum particle size of 10 ⁇ m and sintering aids having an average particle size of from 0.1 to 5 ⁇ m as described in Table 2 as Sample Nos. 1-16 were added to an Si powder having an average particle size of 1 ⁇ m and a maximum particle size of 10 ⁇ m, and blended therewith. After molding the resulting mixture with isostatic press at a pressure of about 2,000 kg/cm 2 , the resulting moldings were subjected to reaction sintering at a temperature up to 1,450° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere and thereafter resintering at a temperature of from 1,600° to 2,200° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere. Properties of the resulting sintered products were measured. Results are shown in Table 2.
  • the flexural strength was measured using a test sample of 4 ⁇ 8 ⁇ 25 mm (span 20 mm) by 3-point bending according to JIS B-4104 -1970, and the value of fracture toughness (K IC ) was measured by a notched beam method according to the ASTM SPECIAL TECHNICAL PUBLICATION NO. 410, using a test sample of 4 ⁇ 5 ⁇ 25 mm (span 20 mm) wherein a notch of 0.5 mm was formed by a diamond wheel.
  • a TiN powder having a maximum particle size of 10 ⁇ m and an average particle size of 2 ⁇ m and a Y 2 O 3 powder having an average particle size of 0.5 ⁇ m were added to an Si powder having an average particle size of 5 ⁇ m and a maximum particle size pf 50 ⁇ m.
  • a TiN powder having an average particle size of 5 ⁇ m and a maximum particle size of 50 ⁇ m and a Y 2 O 3 powder having an average particle size of 0.5 ⁇ m were added to an Si powder having an average particle size of 1 ⁇ m and a maximum particle size of 10 ⁇ m. Operations after that were the same as those in Sample Nos. 1-14.

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Abstract

A process for producing a silicon nitride sintered product having high toughness is described, comprising blending from 97 to 57% by weight of metallic silicon powder having a maximum particle size of 25 μm or less with from 1 to 15% by weight, calculated as TiN, of a TiN powder having a maximum particle size of 20 μm or less or a powder of titanium component capable of changing into TiN during reaction sintering, and from 2 to 28% by weight of one or more components selected from the group consisting of AlN, Al2 O3, SiO2 and oxides of rare earth elements, molding the resulting mixture, carrying out reaction sintering in a nonoxidizing atmosphere of a nitrogen gas or a nitrogen-containing mixed gas, and thereafter resintering in the same atmosphere at a temperature of from 1,600° C. to 2,200° C.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process for producing silicon nitride sintered products having high strength, high toughness, and a fibrous structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Because silicon nitride sintered products are excellent in various properties such as mechanical strength, heat resistance and corrosion resistance, etc., they are used as high temperature structural materials such as for parts of gas turbines. However, silicon nitride has a poor sinterability because of having a highly covalent bonding nature and, consequently, it is difficult to obtain silicon nitride having high density and high strength.
Hitherto, processes used for production of sintered products of silicon nitride have included (1) a reaction sintering process which comprises nitriding metallic silicon, (2) a pressureless sintering process and (3) a hot pressing process which comprises sintering a silicon nitride powder together with sintering aids. However, these processes have advantages and disadvantages shown in the following Table 1.
              TABLE 1                                                     
______________________________________                                    
Process   Advantage      Disadvantage                                     
______________________________________                                    
(1)       It is possible to                                               
                         Density is low, and                              
Reaction  sinter even in strength, corrosion                              
sintering the case of a  resistance and oxida-                            
process   product having a                                                
                         tion resistance are                              
          complicated shape.                                              
                         inferior.                                        
          Degradation of                                                  
          strength hardly                                                 
          occurs even at                                                  
          high temperature.                                               
(2)       It is possible to                                               
                         Deformation is easily                            
Pressureless                                                              
          sinter even in caused by shrinkage                              
sintering the case of a  during sintering.                                
process   product having a                                                
                         The largest amount of                            
          complicated shape,                                              
                         sintering aids is                                
          but not as complex                                              
                         required, and conse-                             
          as in (1).     quently degradation                              
          Strength is    of strength is                                   
          superior to that                                                
                         significant at high                              
          of (1).        temperature.                                     
(3)       Strength, oxida-                                                
                         It is only possible                              
Hot pressing                                                              
          tion resistance                                                 
                         to sinter products                               
process   and corrosion  having a simple shape.                           
          resistance are Degradation of                                   
          excellent.     strength although                                
                         lesser degree than                               
                         (2) occurs at high                               
                         temperature resulting                            
                         from the addition of                             
                         sintering aids.                                  
______________________________________                                    
All of these processes have advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, none of them are completely satisfactory processes for producing high temperature structural materials having complicated shapes, such as parts for gas turbines or engines, etc. However, since the pressureless sintering process and the hot pressing process each has certain advantages, they would become desirable processes for producing the high temperature structural materials, if a method of overcoming the disadvantages while keeping the advantages of each could be found out. Thus, various processes have been proposed hitherto. One of them is a process which comprises sintering a silicon nitride powder together with from 0.1 to 40% by weight of one or more components selected from titanium nitride and tantalum nitride. (Japanese Patent Application (OPI) No. 123113/79 (the term "OPI" as used herein refers to a "published unexamined Japanese patent application").) However, in this process, hot pressing which has the above mentioned disadvantages is necessary to obtain a fully dense products.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present inventors have conducted extensive studies on sintering aids to be added in obtaining dense sintered products which are made by combining a reaction sintering and resintering processes. As a result, it has now been found that, when sintered products obtained by reaction sintering of a metallic silicon powder to which titanium nitride and certain kinds of oxides, including oxides of rare earth elements, are added in specified amounts, respectively, and are then subjected to resintering, the resulting products do not undergo degradation of strength at a high temperature and are remarkably excellent as high temperature structural materials.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a process for producing silicon nitride sintered products having high toughness, comprising blending from 97 to 57% by weight of metallic silicon powder having a maximum particle size of 25 μm or less with from 1 to 15% by weight, calculated as TiN, of a TiN powder having a maximum particle size of 20 μm or less or a powder of titanium component capable of changing into TiN during reaction sintering, and from 2 to 28% by weight of one or more components selected from the group consisting of AlN, Al2 O3, SiO2 and oxides of rare earth elements, molding the resulting mixture, carrying out reaction sintering in a nonoxidizing atmosphere of a nitrogen gas or a nitrogen-containing mixed gas, and thereafter resintering in the same atmosphere at a temperature of from 1,600° to 2,200° C.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the illustrations of the present invention presented in detail hereinafter, a metallic silicon powder is used in the present invention as a starting raw material to which sintering aids are added, and the mixture is subjected first to reaction sintering to obtain a reaction sintered product. The reason why silicon nitride is not used as a starting raw material like the above described prior processes is as follows:
(1) It is possible to produce a dense product while reducing the amount of sintering aids, because the density before sintering in the case of resintering the reaction sintered product according to the present invetion is higher than that in case of molding Si3 N4 powder together with sintering aids and sintering it.
(2) It is important to uniformly disperse TiN in the Si3 N4 sintered product in the prior processes. From this point of view, the process which comprises blending the Si powder with the TiN powder, molding the resulting mixture and carrying out reaction sintering and then resintering is remarkably superior to the process which comprises blending the Si3 N4 powder with the TiN powder, molding the resulting mixture and sintering it.
To the metallic silicon powder which is the starting raw material, TiN powder and one or more sintering aids selected from AlN, Al2 O3, SiO2 and oxides of rare earth elements are added.
The TiN serves to increase toughness by inhibiting grain growth in the sintered product and increase the aspect ratio (length of fiber/diameter) of particles and increase high temperature strength by uniformly dispersing between particles of silicon nitride to improve the properties of the grain boundary phase. Therefore, it is possible to add a powder of titanium components capable of changing into TiN during the reaction sintering, such as metal Ti or titanium hydride, etc., instead of the TiN powder. However, other sintering aids should be added additionally, because dense products cannot be obtained by adding only the TiN powder if hot pressing treatment is not carried out. Sintering aids to be added should be those which do not adversely affect the above described effect of the TiN added. As a result of various experiments by the present inventors, it has been found that such sintering aids are selected from the group consisting of AlN, Al2 O3, SiO2, and oxides of rare earth elements.
In the present invention, the metallic silicon powder must necessarily have a maximum particle size of 25 μm or less, because the maximum diameter of pores in the sintered products after reaction sintering depends upon the maximum particle size of the raw material powders. If the maximum particle size is larger than 25 μm, large pores remain in the products after resintering, which is a severe fault in the final resulting sintered products.
Further, the TiN powder must necessarily have a maximum particle size of 20 μm or less. If the particle size is over 20 μm, the powder cannot be dispersed uniformly, and the desirable effects of TiN being added are not exhibited. The sintering aids such as AlN, etc., have preferably a maximum particle size of 10 μm or less.
Still further, the above described raw materials must necessarily be used in the amounts of from 97 to 57% by weight of the metallic silicon powder, from 1 to 15% by weight of the TiN powder or the powder of titanium components capable of changing into TiN during the reaction sintering, and from 2 to 28% by weight of one or more sintering aids selected from AlN, Al2 O3, SiO2 and oxides of rare earth elements. If the amount of TiN, etc., is lower than 1% by weight, the effect of improving the high temperature strength and toughness is not exhibited, and, if it is over 15% by weight, strength at room temperature deteriorates. If the amount of sintering aids such as AlN, etc., is lower than 2% by weight, not only does the sinterability upon resistering deteriorate, but also the structure of the sintered products becomes difficult to change into a fibrous structure which is necessary for high strength and toughness. If it is over 28% by weight, though the sinterability in resintering is improved, the strength at high temperature of the resulting sintered products degrade remarkably.
The above described raw materials are blended and ground by a ball mill, etc., and the resulting mixture is molded into a desired shape. The moldings are subjected first to reaction sintering by carrying out a nitriding reaction at a temperature of from 1,200° to 1,450° C. in a nonoxidizing atmosphere of a nitrogen gas or a mixed gas composed of nitrogen and ammonia, inert gas or hydrogen, etc. In this case, if the temperature is lower than 1,200° C., unreacted metallic silicon remains. If it is higher than 1,450° C., the proportion of β phase in the formed silicon nitride becomes large, and, consequently, the particles of the sintered products obtained by resintering become rough and the aspect ratio of particles becomes low. Further, the atmosphere in the nitriding reaction may have a pressure of 1 atmospheric pressure or more.
After reaction sintering, the resulting product is necessarily resintered in order to form dense products having a fibrous structure. Resintering is carried out at a temperature of from 1,600° to 2,200° C. in a nonoxidizing atmosphere such as a nitrogen gas or a mixture of nitrogen and an inert gas. When the temperature is lower than 1,600° C., the internal structure does not become fibrous and improvement of strength is not observed, even if the sintering aids are added. Further, a temperature higher than 2,200° C. is not necessary, because such a temperature is not industrially useful, and the properties of the resulting sintered products would not be improved thereby. The resintering is preferably carried out under a pressure of from 1 to 3,000 atm. If the pressure is lower than 1 atm, silicon nitride is easily volatilized and decomposed in the case of sintering at higher than 1,850° C. Accordingly, in order to prevent decomposition, a pressure of 1 atm or more is preferred. The pressure higher than 3,000 atm is not suitable industrially from the viewpoints of apparatus and safety. In the case of carrying out resintering at from 500 to 3,000 atm, though resintering may be carried out directly when the sintered products, before resintering, do not have opened pores, it is preferred to carry out resintering after the surface thereof is covered completely with silica glass, etc., because there is a possibility of loss of denseness if resintered directly in the case of having opened pores. Further, in case of carrying out resintering at from 1 to about 500 atm, sintering may be carried out without covering the surface, even in case of having opened pores. Further, the above described resintering step may be carried out continuously after the above described reaction sintering step, or may be carried out separately.
As described above, the process of the present invention is characterized by adding a TiN powder and sintering aids such as AlN, etc., to a metallic silicon powder, carrying out reaction sintering of the resulting mixture and carrying out resintering. Accordingly, it is possible to produce silicon nitride sintered products having high strength and high toughness and a complicated shape by the synergistic effect of the TiN powder and AlN, etc., and the produced sintered products can be used as parts of gas turbines, parts of diesel engines, cutting tools, etc.
In the following, the present invention is illustrated in greater detail by examples, but the present invention is not limited th the examples.
EXAMPLE 1
A TiN powder having an average particle size of 2 μm and a maximum particle size of 10 μm and sintering aids having an average particle size of from 0.1 to 5 μm as described in Table 2 as Sample Nos. 1-16 were added to an Si powder having an average particle size of 1 μm and a maximum particle size of 10 μm, and blended therewith. After molding the resulting mixture with isostatic press at a pressure of about 2,000 kg/cm2, the resulting moldings were subjected to reaction sintering at a temperature up to 1,450° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere and thereafter resintering at a temperature of from 1,600° to 2,200° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere. Properties of the resulting sintered products were measured. Results are shown in Table 2. The flexural strength was measured using a test sample of 4×8×25 mm (span 20 mm) by 3-point bending according to JIS B-4104 -1970, and the value of fracture toughness (KIC) was measured by a notched beam method according to the ASTM SPECIAL TECHNICAL PUBLICATION NO. 410, using a test sample of 4×5×25 mm (span 20 mm) wherein a notch of 0.5 mm was formed by a diamond wheel.
In Sample No. 15 in Table 2, a TiN powder having a maximum particle size of 10 μm and an average particle size of 2 μm and a Y2 O3 powder having an average particle size of 0.5 μm were added to an Si powder having an average particle size of 5 μm and a maximum particle size pf 50 μm. In Sample No. 16, a TiN powder having an average particle size of 5 μm and a maximum particle size of 50 μm and a Y2 O3 powder having an average particle size of 0.5 μm were added to an Si powder having an average particle size of 1 μm and a maximum particle size of 10 μm. Operations after that were the same as those in Sample Nos. 1-14.
                                  TABLE 2                                 
__________________________________________________________________________
                      Relative             Properties of                  
                      Density of           Sintered Product               
Composition of Raw Material                                               
                      Sintered                                            
                             Resintering Condition                        
                                           Flexural                       
                                                  Value of                
               Kind and                                                   
                      Product after                                       
                             (for 1 hour)  Strength                       
                                                  Fracture                
     Amount                                                               
          Amount                                                          
               Amount of                                                  
                      Reaction                                            
                             Temper-   Pres-                              
                                           at Room                        
                                                  Toughness               
Sample                                                                    
     of Si                                                                
          of TiN                                                          
               Sintering                                                  
                      Sintering                                           
                             ature                                        
                                  Atmo-                                   
                                       sure                               
                                           Temperature                    
                                                  (K.sub.IC)              
No.  (wt %)                                                               
          (wt %)                                                          
               Aids (wt %)                                                
                      (%)    (°C.)                                 
                                  sphere                                  
                                       (atm)                              
                                           (kg/mm.sup.2)                  
                                                  (kg/mm.sup.2)           
                                                        Note              
__________________________________________________________________________
1    81   1    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   18 75     2,050                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       80  102    23    Present           
                                                        invention         
2    67   15   Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   18 77     2,050                                        
                                  N.sub.2 + Ar                            
                                       80  96     30    Present           
                                  (1:1)                 invention         
3    86   7    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   7  73     1,800                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       2,000                              
                                           76     28    Present           
                                                        invention         
4    77   5    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   18 79     2,050                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       100 85     29    Present           
                                                        invention         
5    86   7    CeO.sub.2                                                  
                   7  78     1,800                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       1,000                              
                                           75     26    Present           
                                                        invention         
6    85   5    CeO.sub.2                                                  
                   10 74     2,100                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       100 77     27    Present           
                                                        invention         
7    75   3    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   14 76     1,750                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       1   90     25    Present           
               Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                           
                   8                                    invention         
8    79   3    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   17 77     2,000                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       80  92     24    Present           
               Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                           
                   1                                    invention         
9    81   3    CeO.sub.2                                                  
                   14 74     1,850                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       20  95     25    Present           
               Al.sub.2 O.sub.3                                           
                   2                                    invention         
10   69   3    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   14 76     2,000                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       80  87     23    Present           
               AlN 12                                   invention         
               SiO.sub.2                                                  
                   2                                                      
11   85   0    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   15 76     2,050                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       80  90     18    Comparative       
                                                        Example           
12   65   20   Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   15 73     2,050                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       80  60     22    Comparative       
                                                        Example           
13   94.5 5    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   0.5                                                    
                      78     2,000                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       80  40     15    Comparative       
                                                        Example           
14   60   5    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   35 77     2,000                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       80  56     17    Comparative       
                                                        Example           
15   77   5    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   18 78     2,050                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       100 58     21    Comparative       
                                                        Example           
16   77   5    Y.sub.2 O.sub.3                                            
                   18 79     2,050                                        
                                  N.sub.2                                 
                                       100 63     20    Comparative       
                                                        Example           
__________________________________________________________________________
As can be seen from Table 2, although comparative examples may alternatively achieve satisfactory bending strength or breaking toughness, the process of the present invention provides both satisfactory bending strength and breaking toughness simultaneously.
While the invention has been described in detail and with reference to specific embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof.

Claims (2)

What is claimed is:
1. A process for producing a silicon nitride sintered product having high toughness comprising blending from 97 to 57% by weight of metallic silicon powder having a maximum particle size of 25 μm or less with from 1 to 15% by weight, calculated as TiN, of a TiN powder having a maximum particle size of 20 μm or less or a powder of titanium component capable of changing into TiN during reaction sintering, and from 2 to 28% by weight of one or more components selected from the group consisting of AlN, Al2 O3, SiO2 and oxides of rare earth elements, molding the resulting mixture, carrying out reaction sintering in a nonoxidizing atmosphere of a nitrogen gas or a nitrogen-containing mixed gas, and thereafter resintering in the same atmosphere at a temperature of from 1,600° to 2,200° C.
2. A process for producing a silicon nitride sintered product having high toughness according to claim 1, wherein resintering is carried out under a pressure of from 1 to 3,000 atm.
US06/428,507 1981-09-30 1982-09-29 Process for producing silicon nitride sintered products having high toughness Expired - Lifetime US4440707A (en)

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Cited By (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4521358A (en) * 1982-08-12 1985-06-04 Agency Of Industrial Science & Technology Process for the production of silicon nitride sintered bodies
US4578087A (en) * 1983-01-10 1986-03-25 Ngk Spark Plug Co., Ltd. Nitride based cutting tool and method for producing the same
US4612296A (en) * 1984-08-22 1986-09-16 Hitachi, Ltd. High toughness silicon nitride sintered body and process for producing the same
US4848984A (en) * 1982-09-30 1989-07-18 Ceradyne, Inc. Method of making reaction bonded/hot pressed Si3 N4 for use as a cutting tool
US4879263A (en) * 1984-09-18 1989-11-07 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Sliding member of high strength and high abrasion resistance
US4881950A (en) * 1986-05-30 1989-11-21 Gte Valenite Corporation Silicon nitride cutting tool
US4888142A (en) * 1985-04-11 1989-12-19 Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd. Process for producing β-form Si3 N4
US5030599A (en) * 1990-07-19 1991-07-09 W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. Silicon nitride sintered materials
US5034022A (en) * 1987-10-05 1991-07-23 Gte Valenite Corporation Silicon nitride cutting tool
US5233166A (en) * 1991-07-31 1993-08-03 Kyocera Corporation Ceramic heater
US5250477A (en) * 1986-08-04 1993-10-05 Gte Valenite Corporation Silicon nitride based composite with improved fracture toughness
US5324694A (en) * 1985-06-26 1994-06-28 The Babcock & Wilcox Company Silicon nitride/boron nitride composite with enhanced fracture toughness
US5348919A (en) * 1992-07-14 1994-09-20 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. High-packing silicon nitride powder and method for making
US5382554A (en) * 1991-03-18 1995-01-17 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. High-packing silicon nitride powder and method for making
US20020105116A1 (en) * 1999-09-09 2002-08-08 Mehrotra Pankaj K. Process for heat treating ceramics and articles of manufacture made thereby

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS6283377A (en) * 1985-10-04 1987-04-16 日本特殊陶業株式会社 Manufacture of composite sintered body
JPS63233077A (en) * 1986-11-14 1988-09-28 日立金属株式会社 Silicon nitride base composite sintered body
JPH01161594U (en) * 1988-05-02 1989-11-09
JP4869737B2 (en) * 2006-03-02 2012-02-08 キャタピラー エス エー アール エル Suspension device for swivel work machine
CN113184812B (en) * 2021-05-31 2022-09-06 福建臻璟新材料科技有限公司 Silicon nitride doped modified nano aluminum nitride composite powder and preparation method thereof

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US4127630A (en) * 1973-06-18 1978-11-28 Norton Company Reaction bonded silicon nitride
JPS5622678A (en) * 1979-07-28 1981-03-03 Ngk Spark Plug Co Manufacture of high tenacity silicon nitride sintered body
US4351787A (en) * 1977-12-23 1982-09-28 Fiat Societa Per Azioni Process for sintering reaction bonded silicon nitride

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4127630A (en) * 1973-06-18 1978-11-28 Norton Company Reaction bonded silicon nitride
US4351787A (en) * 1977-12-23 1982-09-28 Fiat Societa Per Azioni Process for sintering reaction bonded silicon nitride
JPS5622678A (en) * 1979-07-28 1981-03-03 Ngk Spark Plug Co Manufacture of high tenacity silicon nitride sintered body

Cited By (18)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4521358A (en) * 1982-08-12 1985-06-04 Agency Of Industrial Science & Technology Process for the production of silicon nitride sintered bodies
US4848984A (en) * 1982-09-30 1989-07-18 Ceradyne, Inc. Method of making reaction bonded/hot pressed Si3 N4 for use as a cutting tool
US4578087A (en) * 1983-01-10 1986-03-25 Ngk Spark Plug Co., Ltd. Nitride based cutting tool and method for producing the same
US4612296A (en) * 1984-08-22 1986-09-16 Hitachi, Ltd. High toughness silicon nitride sintered body and process for producing the same
US4879263A (en) * 1984-09-18 1989-11-07 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Sliding member of high strength and high abrasion resistance
US4888142A (en) * 1985-04-11 1989-12-19 Toshiba Ceramics Co., Ltd. Process for producing β-form Si3 N4
US5324694A (en) * 1985-06-26 1994-06-28 The Babcock & Wilcox Company Silicon nitride/boron nitride composite with enhanced fracture toughness
US4881950A (en) * 1986-05-30 1989-11-21 Gte Valenite Corporation Silicon nitride cutting tool
US5250477A (en) * 1986-08-04 1993-10-05 Gte Valenite Corporation Silicon nitride based composite with improved fracture toughness
US5034022A (en) * 1987-10-05 1991-07-23 Gte Valenite Corporation Silicon nitride cutting tool
US5030599A (en) * 1990-07-19 1991-07-09 W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. Silicon nitride sintered materials
US5382554A (en) * 1991-03-18 1995-01-17 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. High-packing silicon nitride powder and method for making
US5233166A (en) * 1991-07-31 1993-08-03 Kyocera Corporation Ceramic heater
US5348919A (en) * 1992-07-14 1994-09-20 Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd. High-packing silicon nitride powder and method for making
US20020105116A1 (en) * 1999-09-09 2002-08-08 Mehrotra Pankaj K. Process for heat treating ceramics and articles of manufacture made thereby
US6610113B1 (en) 1999-09-09 2003-08-26 Kennametal Pc Inc. Process for heat treating ceramics and articles of manufacture made thereby
US20040026813A1 (en) * 1999-09-09 2004-02-12 Mehrotra Pankai K. Process for heat treating ceramics and articles of manufacture made thereby
US6737010B2 (en) 1999-09-09 2004-05-18 Kennametal Pc Inc. Process for heat treating ceramics

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